Anonymous comments welcome, blog trolls are not.

I am going to let you all in on something. You probably should already know this as it is common sense in my opinion but, the internet is not as anonymous as you think it is. When you go to a website someone somewhere can figure out who you are. Well, OK not exactly who you are but if it is someone the person knows of they can. It really is not hard to figure it out, especially if you have left a comment or visited before. They also can tell where you came from and where you visit and how long you stay on the site. How often you visit and what you do.

Leaving anonymous comments is perfectly fine but at the same time know that you are potentially only anonymous to others that visit. I am not saying I know who every person is but it is not too hard to figure out who a blog troll is. Part of the reason I get some of the opportunities I do have to do with my stats. I have to keep track of them somehow. Makes sense right?

I got my first nasty comment on my blog Thursday night. It was on my compassion post. I had never received anything negative on my blog. Besides the occasional spam comment which everyone gets. I don’t really get bothered by spam. It is just a couple clicks and your comment about flowers in India or your foreign symbols are gone. I don’t know the difference between Chinese and Japanese symbols so I can’t say for sure what it is. Everyone up to Thursday night has been really supportive and nice on my blog. It really was rude. Of course curiosity got the best of me and I had an idea of who this blog troll was.

So I looked at my comments and the website I use and figured it out within moments. I have great investigative skills comparable to Monk or Sherlock Holmes. My hunch was right and I decided not to allow the comment to go through because it is my blog and my space and I choose not to litter it up with negativity. It wasn’t that the person had a different opinion than I do. It was the simple fact that the comment was an intentional attack. It was someone who had never been to my blog, at least I don’t think they had. It was a personal attack and while I understand and embrace that people think differently, I won’t let people maliciously attack me or my readers or friends. I am not saying you have to agree with everything I say; just if you decide to leave a comment do so respectfully. I want my readers to feel safe on my blog and know that I don’t tolerate trolls and mean spirited comments.

So, thank you to all my readers that are supportive and kind.